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With two more sacks, Alabama freshman DE A'Shawn Robinson among nation's leaders

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Alabama defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson (86) picks up the sack during the third quarter of the No. 1 Alabama at Kentucky NCAA football game, Saturday, October 12, 2013, at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky. (Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)

LEXINGTON, Kentucky -- True freshman defensive linemen have rarely seen the field during the Nick Saban era at Alabama.

Through six games, A'Shawn Robinson has not only seen his playing time increase on a weekly basis, but he's now among the nation's top sack leaders after picking up two Saturday against Kentucky.

Robinson leads Alabama with four sacks, a total that would have ranked second on the team last year for the entire season. He's sixth in the SEC and 36th in the nation with his average of 0.7 sacks per game.

Among freshmen, Robinson is tied for third in the nation. He's accounted for nearly half of Alabama's nine sacks.

"He’s a great player," junior defensive end Jeoffrey Pagan said. "He’s big and strong and fast. He’s going to be in
the NFL down the road. He’s a great kid and I am excited for his
future."

Robinson is on pace to collect the most sacks by a true defensive lineman during the Nick Saban era at Alabama. The previous high is the 6.5 amassed by Marcell Dareus in 2009. Damion Square led all Alabama defensive linemen with 3.5 last year.

Robinson, a five-star prospect from Fort Worth, Texas, didn't start Saturday, but received as many snaps as he has all season. That promises to continue as Alabama hits the second half of its schedule.

"A'Shawn's playing better and better every week," Saban said. "He's a hard guy to block. He's a big, physical guy. That's what makes good defensive linemen. He's more confident now that he knows what to do and what's expected of him.

"His consistency in performance has gotten better and better each week. I thought he did a nice job tonight."